{{GovLgov}}In the United States, the office of '''Lieutenant Governor''' is the second-highest executive office in a state and is nominally subordinate to the Governor. In the U.S. the main duty of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as [[Governor]] should the Governor be temporarily absent from the office. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor generally succeeds a Governor who dies, resigns, or is removed in trial by the legislative branch. In most states, the Lieutenant Governor then becomes Governor, with the title and its associated salary, office, and privileges. In a few states, like [[Massachusetts]], the Lieutenant Governor instead becomes "Acting Governor" until the next election.

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{{SEO small nav}}{{tnr}}In the United States, the office of '''Lieutenant Governor''' is the second-highest executive office in a state and is nominally subordinate to the Governor. In the U.S. the main duty of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as [[Governor]] should the Governor be temporarily absent from the office. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor generally succeeds a Governor who dies, resigns, or is removed in trial by the legislative branch. In most states, the Lieutenant Governor then becomes Governor, with the title and its associated salary, office, and privileges. In a few states, like [[Massachusetts]], the Lieutenant Governor instead becomes "Acting Governor" until the next election.

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Other than this primary constitutional duty, most state constitutions do not prescribe the duties of the Lieutenant Governor in detail. Please see the [[Ballotpedia]] articles pertaining to specific states for more details on the influence of lieutenant governors on [[initiative]] and [[referendum]].

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Other than this primary constitutional duty, most state constitutions do not prescribe the duties of the Lieutenant Governor in detail.

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In [[Alaska]], [[Hawaii]] and [[Utah]], the position of Lieutenant Governor is equivalent to that of [[Secretary of State]].

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In [[Alaska]], [[Hawaii]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Utah]], the position of Lieutenant Governor is equivalent to that of [[Secretary of State]].

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Five states, however, do not have a Lieutenant Governor position. Those states include: [[Lieutenant Governor of Maine|Maine]], [[Arizona Lieutenant Governor|Arizona]], [[Wyoming Lieutenant Governor|Wyoming]], [[New Hampshire Lieutenant Governor|New Hampshire]] and [[Lieutenant Governor of Oregon|Oregon]].

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==''Ex officio'' lieutenant governors==

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==Political parties==

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The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties pertaining to the state executive office of lieutenant governor. For other state executive offices, [[State executive offices|click here.]]

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Five states do not have a Lieutenant Governor. In these states, it is the [[Attorney General]], the [[Secretary of State]], or the [[President of the Senate]] who is the first in the line of succession to the governor's seat and is the official tasked with many duties normally associated with the Lt. Governor.

===States with an Attorney General serving as ''ex officio'' Lt. Gov.===

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| [[Lieutenant Governor|Lt. Governor]]

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{|

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| align="center" |{{Democratic Lt. gov parser count}}

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| align="center" |{{Republican Lt. gov parser count}}

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Maine|Maine]]<br>

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| align="center" |{{Independent Lt. gov parser count}}

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| align="center" |{{Nonpartisan Lt. gov parser count}}

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| align="center"|44

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|colspan="6"|''<small>Counts current as of {{#time:F Y}}. If you see an error, please [mailto:stateexecutives@ballotpedia.org email us]</small>''

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===States with a Secretary of State serving as ''ex officio'' Lt. Gov.===

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==Current officeholders==

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===List of Current Lieutenant Governors===

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{{Current Lieutenant Governor list}}

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==Elected or appointed==

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[[File:LtGovElected.png|thumb|right|320px|43 states directly elect Lt. Governors. Only two states - Tennessee and West Virginia - do not.]]

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[[Arizona Lieutenant Governor|Arizona]]<br>

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Only two states do not have direct elections for lieutenant governor - Tennessee and West Virginia. In both states, whomever is elected the President of the State Senate is the de facto Lieutenant Governor. In Tennessee, the full title of this individual is, "Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate." In West Virginia, recent legislation allows the Senate President to use the title, "Lieutenant Governor." Prior to that change, West Virginia did not have a lieutenant governor.

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[[Wyoming Lieutenant Governor|Wyoming]]<br>

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===States with a Senate President serving as ''ex officio'' Lt. Gov.===

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'''Of the 43 states that elect lieutenant governors, there are three methods by which officeholders are chosen:'''

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* on a single ticket in both the primary and general elections (20 states)

*There are 13 are Democratic and 29 Republican Lt. Governors (The office is currently vacant in [[Jennifer Carroll|Florida]] and [[Tim Murray|Massachusetts]])

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*17 are elected completely separate from the Governor, 26 share the ticket either in the general election or both primary and general.

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*Salary range: Texas $7,200 - New York $151,500

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==Appointed lieutenant governors==

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==Election history==

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===2012===

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:: ''Main article: [[State executive official elections, 2012]]''

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Additionally, two states do not have direct election of Lieutenant Governors. In [[Tennessee Lieutenant Governor|Tennessee]] and [[Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia|West Virginia]] the State Senate elects one of its own members to serve as Lt. Governor.

In both states, whomever is elected the President of the State Senate is the ''de facto'' Lieutenant Governor. In Tennessee, the full title of this individual is, "Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate." In West Virginia, recent legislation allows the Senate President to use the title, "Lieutenant Governor." Prior to that change, West Virginia had no lieutenant governor.

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Two seats switched parties in 2012 - in [[Montana]], [[John E. Walsh]] (D) succeeded [[John Bohlinger]] (R) who was term-limited out, and in an extremely close race in [[North Carolina]], [[Dan Forest]] (R) defeated [[Linda Coleman]] (D). Following the 2012 elections, Republicans held 30 seats while Democrats held 14.

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==Election of lieutenant governors==

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===2011===

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Among the 43 states with elected lieutenant governors, there are three methods by which officeholders are chosen.

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:: ''Main article: [[Lieutenant Governor elections, 2011]]''

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20 states elect the governor and lieutenant governor on a single ticket in both the primary and general elections, similarly to a presidential election ticket. These 20 states are:

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Three states - [[Kentucky]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Mississippi]] - held lieutenant gubernatorial elections in the 2011 electoral cycle.

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{|

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Additionally, [[West Virginia]] held a special election following a court order. However, as the [[Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia]] is a title accorded to the legislator elected as Senate President, their 2011 election did not actually include a ballot line for the lieutenant governor.

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Colorado|Colorado]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut|Connecticut]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Florida|Florida]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii|Hawaii]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Indiana|Indiana]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Iowa|Iowa]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Kansas|Kansas]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky|Kentucky]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Maryland|Maryland]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Michigan|Michigan]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota|Minnesota]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Montana|Montana]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska|Nebraska]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey|New Jersey]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico|New Mexico]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota|North Dakota]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Ohio|Ohio]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota|South Dakota]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Utah|Utah]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]<br>

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* Montana does allow a bipartisan ticket, where members of two parties agree to run together. The current Governor and Lt. Governor of Montana represent separate parties.

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===2010===

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:: ''Main article: [[Lieutenant Governor elections, 2010]]''

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6 states allow gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates to campaign separately in the primary election. In the general election in these states, each party's ticket for Governor and Lt. Governor is made up of the highest vote getters in the separate primary elections. These 6 states are:

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Thirty-one states elected [[Lieutenant Governor|lieutenant governors]] in November 2010, a lower number than the record 37 [[Gubernatorial elections, 2010|gubernatorial races]] held that year due to the fact that 6 U.S. states at the time did not have an office of the lieutenant governor and that one state, [[Tennessee]], automatically makes its Senate President Pro Tem into the Lieutenant Governor.

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Ultimately, 21 of those 31 races would go to the GOP in what turned in to a wave election for the party. 15 races were on a shared ticket with the governor, five were on a semi-shared ticket - that is, the candidates ran separately in the primary and jointly in the general, and 11 were entirely separate elections.

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Alaska|Alaska]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|Illinois]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana|Louisiana]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of New York|New York]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]<br>

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Lastly, 17 states hold entirely separate elections for governor and lt. governor. In these 17 states, it is possible to have a partisan split among the sitting goveror and lt. governor:

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Because 11 of the 17 states that conduct entirely separate elections for the governor and the lieutenant governor were on the 2010 slate, the possibility existed for increasing the number of split tickets. In the end, that happened in both [[Arkansas]], where voters elected a Democratic governor and a Republican lieutenant governor, and in [[Rhode Island]], with the election of an Independent governor and a Democratic lieutenant governor. After the 2010 election, Arkansas and Rhode Island joined [[Missouri]] and [[Montana]] as being governed by two parties in the executive.

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==Success running for governor==

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An April 2013 article in ''Governing'' looked at how successful lieutenant governors have been in their bids for the governorship. Their research showed that since the early 1990s they made 55 attempts for the top post, of which 17 won and 38 lost - a winning percentage of 31 percent.<ref name="winninggov"> [http://www.governing.com/blogs/politics/gov-successful-lieutenant-governors-seeking-governorship.html ''Governing,'' "How Successful Are Lieutenant Governors Seeking the Governorship?," April 12, 2013] </ref>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Alabama|Alabama]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas|Arkansas]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of California|California]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Delaware|Delaware]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Georgia|Georgia]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Idaho|Idaho]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi|Mississippi]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Missouri|Missouri]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Nevada|Nevada]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina|North Carolina]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina|South Carolina]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Texas|Texas]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Vermont|Vermont]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia|Virginia]]<br>

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[[Lieutenant Governor of Washington|Washington]]<br>

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==Current Lieutenant Governors==

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[[Democratic]] lieutenant governors ran 37 times, [[Republicans]] 17, with one Independent. Democrats did slightly better overall, winning 35 percent of their contests, verses Republicans 24 percent. However, it is noted that those who did win did not necessarily achieve much success in the office and most never won high office again.<ref name="winninggov"/>

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[[File:United States Lieutenant Governors map.svg.png|thumb|250px|Party control of Lt. Gov. offices]]

[[Virginia]] stood out among the states, where incumbent lieutenant governors won four of the nine races for governor since 1977. State term-limits allow governors only one term in office and provide lieutenant governors with an advantage. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato explained the situation, stating, "It's a part-time, poorly paid post whose occupants mainly spend their time running for governor." And due to Virginia's system, he added, "being seen as in the wings is a big plus."<ref name="winninggov"/>

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==Recent news==

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This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term '''Lieutenant + Governor + State'''

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:''All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.''

In the United States, the office of Lieutenant Governor is the second-highest executive office in a state and is nominally subordinate to the Governor. In the U.S. the main duty of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as Governor should the Governor be temporarily absent from the office. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor generally succeeds a Governor who dies, resigns, or is removed in trial by the legislative branch. In most states, the Lieutenant Governor then becomes Governor, with the title and its associated salary, office, and privileges. In a few states, like Massachusetts, the Lieutenant Governor instead becomes "Acting Governor" until the next election.

Other than this primary constitutional duty, most state constitutions do not prescribe the duties of the Lieutenant Governor in detail.

Elected or appointed

43 states directly elect Lt. Governors. Only two states - Tennessee and West Virginia - do not.

Only two states do not have direct elections for lieutenant governor - Tennessee and West Virginia. In both states, whomever is elected the President of the State Senate is the de facto Lieutenant Governor. In Tennessee, the full title of this individual is, "Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate." In West Virginia, recent legislation allows the Senate President to use the title, "Lieutenant Governor." Prior to that change, West Virginia did not have a lieutenant governor.

Of the 43 states that elect lieutenant governors, there are three methods by which officeholders are chosen:

on a single ticket in both the primary and general elections (20 states)

2011

Additionally, West Virginia held a special election following a court order. However, as the Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia is a title accorded to the legislator elected as Senate President, their 2011 election did not actually include a ballot line for the lieutenant governor.

2010

Thirty-one states elected lieutenant governors in November 2010, a lower number than the record 37 gubernatorial races held that year due to the fact that 6 U.S. states at the time did not have an office of the lieutenant governor and that one state, Tennessee, automatically makes its Senate President Pro Tem into the Lieutenant Governor.

Ultimately, 21 of those 31 races would go to the GOP in what turned in to a wave election for the party. 15 races were on a shared ticket with the governor, five were on a semi-shared ticket - that is, the candidates ran separately in the primary and jointly in the general, and 11 were entirely separate elections.

Because 11 of the 17 states that conduct entirely separate elections for the governor and the lieutenant governor were on the 2010 slate, the possibility existed for increasing the number of split tickets. In the end, that happened in both Arkansas, where voters elected a Democratic governor and a Republican lieutenant governor, and in Rhode Island, with the election of an Independent governor and a Democratic lieutenant governor. After the 2010 election, Arkansas and Rhode Island joined Missouri and Montana as being governed by two parties in the executive.

Success running for governor

An April 2013 article in Governing looked at how successful lieutenant governors have been in their bids for the governorship. Their research showed that since the early 1990s they made 55 attempts for the top post, of which 17 won and 38 lost - a winning percentage of 31 percent.[1]

Democratic lieutenant governors ran 37 times, Republicans 17, with one Independent. Democrats did slightly better overall, winning 35 percent of their contests, verses Republicans 24 percent. However, it is noted that those who did win did not necessarily achieve much success in the office and most never won high office again.[1]

Virginia stood out among the states, where incumbent lieutenant governors won four of the nine races for governor since 1977. State term-limits allow governors only one term in office and provide lieutenant governors with an advantage. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato explained the situation, stating, "It's a part-time, poorly paid post whose occupants mainly spend their time running for governor." And due to Virginia's system, he added, "being seen as in the wings is a big plus."[1]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Lieutenant + Governor + State

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.